I spent a recent dreary day watching a “Mayberry Marathon”--six hours of reruns of that popular TV show featuring the antics of Sheriff Andy and his Deputy Barney Fife. After laughing my way through the first hour, I realized that--seriously--today’s society could learn a lot about civility, common sense and community from the citizens of Mayberry!
Among the episodes that stick out in my mind is the one where Barney, who can’t sing, takes over the tenor position in the church choir. No one in the community has the heart to tell Barney he is off key--and they go to incredible lengths to cover him up and drown out his solos--but they let him remain part of the group in a collective exhibition of compassion and tolerance.
The show that really got me thinking was the one where Barney decides to run for sheriff because of Andy’s “malfeasance.”
A town meeting is called so the candidates can debate. Barney goes first listing his grievances which include Andy’s lax enforcement of parking and jaywalking laws and the fact that Andy has not stocked the police station with adequate riot gear--tear gas and automatic rifles--let alone the fact that Andy himself rarely carries even a gun.
In a very moving rebuttal, Andy points out that while all Barney’s accusations are true, it just defies common sense to enforce rules when there is no need. He offers as evidence the fact that he can’t remember the last time there was a traffic accident in Mayberry, or a riot. He doesn’t carry a gun, because there just isn’t the kind of crime that warrants it.
In the end, Barney gets up, accepts Andy’s explanations and announces “I’m voting for Andy!” The whole town cheers and applauds and there is a lot of back-patting and hugging.
So many points can be made from this show that I’m sure I’ll miss a few, but here goes: First of all, when the town gathers to hear the candidates debate, the whole town gathers. Not just the “Barney” supporters, not just the “Andy” supporters.
We, the viewers, of course know that Barney is a bumbling fool who would be an incompetent sheriff, at best. Mayberry knows this too--and yet they give him his time and listen to his complaints--they show him due respect.
Barney, in the end is allowed to, and does, come to the conclusion that Andy is the best choice for sheriff himself. He is, in turn, a big enough person to admit that he was wrong. I like to think that he feels secure enough to do this because of the supportive, respectful community he belongs to.
I think what the crowd really cheers, in the end, is that the community has been kept whole. They haven’t had to choose sides. If they had they would probably elect Andy--which would leave Barney feeling rejected, hurt and embarrassed, maybe even an “outcast.”
Or perhaps Barney would have garnered enough supporters to divide the town (he got enough to call the town meeting), pitting neighbor against neighbor. As it turned out, Barney was given an opportunity to save-face and they remained one big happy bunch of people. Community triumphs.
There is victory here, also, for common sense. Andy underscores the true purpose of law and its enforcement--to maintain civility and community, not point out everyone’s every infraction (I’ve only offered examples of Barney’s charges, but if my memory serves me accurately, he had a list of 72 “incidents” of Andy’s “malfeasance.”) With as many laws as are currently on the books, can anyone really be a totally “law-abiding” citizen?
Yes, but the time and place that was Mayberry was a simpler time and place--or was it? Maybe we make things more complicated than they are. Maybe we should take a step back and remember that mutual respect and common sense go a long way in maintaining civility and community.
And a good laugh now and then doesn’t hurt either!
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